# Negotiating Compensation

Help users navigate the end-to-end negotiation process for product and engineering...

- Repository: https://github.com/RefoundAI/lenny-skills (1456 stars)
- Category: Business
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-07-16
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add RefoundAI/lenny-skills --skill negotiating-compensation -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add RefoundAI/lenny-skills --skill negotiating-compensation -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add RefoundAI/lenny-skills --skill negotiating-compensation -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add RefoundAI/lenny-skills --skill negotiating-compensation -g -a gemini-cli -y`

## Description

Help users navigate the end-to-end negotiation process for product and engineering roles, from initial recruiter calls to evaluating startup equity and final offer signing.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# Negotiating Tech Compensation

Master the art of benchmarking, intelligence gathering, and collaborative negotiation to maximize your total rewards.

Help the user with negotiating tech compensation using insights from 1 guests and posts across Lenny's Podcast and Newsletter.

## How to Help

1. **Benchmark your value** - Map your current and target roles to standardized job levels and percentile data to find your true market range.
2. **Gather interview intelligence** - Use specific questions during the interview process to uncover team priorities and the company's internal budget bands.
3. **Deploy deflection scripts** - Provide exact wording to avoid sharing salary expectations early and instead pivot the conversation to the company's budget.
4. **Evaluate the total package** - Analyze equity components like an investor while maximizing non-financial levers like work-life flexibility.

## Core Principles

### Gather Intelligence Early
From "The 10 commandments of salary negotiation": "Every recruiter worth their salt will ask about your salary expectations when you first start interviewing. Do not, I repeat, do not, give them a number. What to do instead: Ask for the range they’re budgeted for the role."

Start the negotiation during initial interviews by asking for the budgeted salary band instead of providing your own expectations.

### Match Strategy to Company Philosophy
From "How much product managers make in the U.S., Europe, and Canada": "At Tesla, Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple, Meta, Google, and Netflix (the Magnificent 7), the starting base salary for a (non-APM) PM is $136,000, $156,000, $158,000, $158,000, $167,000, $199,000, and $343,000, respectively. Netflix and Tesla are low on equity, while Meta, Google, and Nvidia are quite high."

Identify if a company uses a high-cash model like Netflix or a high-equity model like Google to tailor your negotiation requests.

The rest: https://github.com/RefoundAI/lenny-skills/blob/HEAD/skills/negotiating-compensation/SKILL.md